Need info on camera app

Lou Sander

New member
Feb 9, 2018
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I'm a reasonably astute computer person and amateur photographer.

The camera app in the Alcatel IDOL 4S seems to have a lot of features, but I haven't a clue to the meaning and use of the various controls, other than extremely basic stuff. (This is my first smartphone camera.) For example, those circles come up unexpectedly, are hard to understand, and aren't easy to dismiss.

Who can guide me to some more information about this seemingly wonderful camera?
 
What is the 3/4" circle with a white dot in the middle? It appears on my camera display at what seems to be random times. Maybe it is some sort of face detector, but it comes up when I'm shooting the green grass of my lawn.
 
Thanks for enlightening me about the useful focus spot. Now what about all those other mysterious controls that come and go so quickly? We newbies are totally in the dark about them. BTW, maybe I am missing something, but the picture and video thread seems to be just a place for people to show off their pictures.